Employee Resource Groups

Purpose of Employee Resource Groups

Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) provide forums for employees to gather and share ideas about matters that affect their professional development and work at Whatcom Community College (WCC). WCC administration is supportive of a system of Employee Resource Groups that contribute to the following:

Foster employee development

Contribute to the College’s commitment to advancing social equity, while challenging systems of power, privilege and inequities

Strengthen networking and cohesiveness across the College, and promote career and professional development

Provide important feedback to management and assist with efforts to attract and retain highly qualified candidates for employment at WCC

Employee Resource Group Leads must create a legacy document or brief annual summary that includes the name of the lead contact for the following year, number of meetings held, participant names, and highlights from the previous year related the strategic plan, retention, professional development, and/or the group’s goals. This is due by July of each year.

Active Employee Resource Groups

Jewish Employees and Friends at Whatcom

This group is a support group and learning community for WCC Jewish employees (and friends) that advances equity, creates religious and cultural awareness, serves as a resource for employees and the company, and enhances overall diversity.

The People of Color Collective will serve as a network and resource for professionals of color at Whatcom Community College. This group will work to build an atmosphere that fosters professional growth and development for its members. In addition, the POCC will focus on building and developing community and on partnering with the institution to play an active role in advancing equity, a core theme of the College’s strategic plan. The overarching goal of the POCC is to create a community which is culturally responsive in its practices.

Whatcom White Womxn for Racial Justice is a learning community that advances equity and builds community by educating ourselves on white supremacy, white identity history and the intersections of whiteness and womxnhood. Considering white womxn are the demographic majority of teachers in a racist education system, we seek to address and dismantle white supremacy within ourselves and on WCC’s campus. We practice this by: